In many contexts, it may be useful to deposit (or otherwise apply) beads of extruded material onto different substrates (e.g., structures of industrial parts). For example, in automotive, medical device and consumer electronic product assemblies, and other industrial and commercial applications it may be useful to apply adhesive or other sealant material to gaskets or other areas for attachment of different parts, and so on.
For different reasons, it can be important for a particular bead to trace a particular path with relatively high precision (e.g., with less than a predetermined deviation with regard to the desired path). It can also be important for a particular bead to exhibit different properties to within a desired degree of accuracy. For example, in different applications, it may be important for beads to exhibit a relatively uniform (or otherwise specified) bead thickness, bead continuity, and so on.